Issue with 4 y/o gaming desktop

[eddiebove]

Hi All,

I built my desktop computer about 4 years ago and it's beginning to show the signs of ageing so I need some advice on how to solve the issues I'm experiencing.

Current Spec:

Mobo: Gigabyte P55A-UD3
CPU: i5 750 - 2.66Ghz
RAM: 8GB (4x2GB) 1600Mhz
PSU: Corsair HX 750W
GPU: ATI HD7770 (only 6 months old)
SDD: Agility 3 120GB (2.5 yrs old)
HDDs: 2x 320GB 1x 1TB

It still works really well (mostly) but it now takes ages to wake from sleep and sometimes doesn't wake from sleep at all until I faff around with the power supply and in one case dismantle and re-assemble the whole computer! I'm not sure what's causing this issue but I don't want it to one day refuse completely to start up from sleep.

It now takes around a minute to wake from sleep - when it completely refuses to wake up looking inside the case the CPU fan isn't turning though all the other system fans are, and all four
phase LEDs on the motherboard are lit up.

Any suggestions as to which component could be causing this issue and if I need to upgrade what do I need to replace?

Cheers!

 

[USAFRet]

The hardware does not generally 'age' and get slower. Given a 4 year old PC with no software changes, it should run pretty much the same now as it did when new.

So what happens? Too much software crap gets built up. Excess stuff in StartUp. malware/virus, every application under the sun wanting to run its own update checker, etc, etc.

See what is autostarting at startup. See what unnecessary processes are running. Virus and malware check.
In an extreme case, possibly just a reinstall of the whole OS and applications is needed.

I'd try cleaning the software stack before trying new hardware.

 

[eddiebove]

The hardware does not generally 'age' and get slower. Given a 4 year old PC with no software changes, it should run pretty much the same now as it did when new.

So what happens? Too much software crap gets built up. Excess stuff in StartUp. malware/virus, every application under the sun wanting to run its own update checker, etc, etc.

See what is autostarting at startup. See what unnecessary processes are running. Virus and malware check.
In an extreme case, possibly just a reinstall of the whole OS and applications is needed.

I'd try cleaning the software stack before trying new hardware.

I make sure that I keep installed software to a minimum and format my hard drives and re-install windows every 9 months or so to keep my computer running fast. I also run msconfig often to make sure no startup programs are slowing things down and run registry cleaners every few days to do the same. Also got anti-virus software installed, up to date and scanning every week. I haven't done my format and re-install cycle for a little while but still, my windows installation is pretty clean and streamlined.

The issue with starting from sleep has been going on for a few months and software wouldn't explain the issue with refusing to start up from sleep I'd have thought - especially when the CPU fan doesn't start and the phase lights on the MoBo lighting up!

Cheers for the answer though - I should have mentioned all the above in my first post!